Hunger panel takes shape

Advocates and farmers among those picked to serve by Gov. Cuomo

Published 9:31 pm, Monday, December 9, 2013

Albany

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named a diverse group of two dozen people to serve on his new state Anti-Hunger Task Force.

The panel has been given three primary goals: maximizing federal dollars for the state's anti-hunger efforts; promoting public-private partnerships; and increasing the participation of New York's farms in combating hunger while simultaneously stimulating economic activity.

The membership includes anti-hunger advocates including Margarette Purvis, president and CEO of the Food Bank of New York City, who will serve as its chair, and Mark Quandt, president of the Food Bank Association of New York State. Representatives from the greater Capital Region include Richard Ball, owner of Schoharie Valley Farms.

In a statement, Cuomo said the task force would be "a key resource and tool in our ongoing efforts to eliminate hunger in New York. ... In the 21st century, it is simply intolerable that one million New York children are going to bed hungry and so many households are struggling to put food on the table."

The state estimates that 14 percent of New York households struggle with hunger, and at least 1 million of the state's children live in households that do not have regular and consistent access to food. Even so, a quarter of New Yorkers who are eligible for food stamps do not receive them.

Cuomo announced his intention to form the task force in January's State of the State address. Anti-hunger advocates who rallied at the Capitol just before Thanksgiving expressed concern over the gap between the conception and the creation.

One of those advocates, Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, said Monday that he was "encouraged by the governor's commitment to helping end hunger by launching this new task force. We hope this is just the first step and that his 2014-15 budget will make a serious financial commitment to begin to address the scourge of hunger in one of the richest states in the country."